CEO says Finmeccanica may sell U.S. unit DRS: newspaper

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's Finmeccanica may decide to sell DRS Technologies once it has found a partner for the struggling U.S. unit, the chief executive of the aerospace and defense group told an Italian newspaper on Monday.

CEO Mauro Moretti told an analyst call last week that Finmeccanica wanted to find a partner for DRS Technologies, whose sales have suffered due to cuts to the U.S. defense budget and the global financial crisis.

He said Finmeccanica hoped to take a decision on the unit's future in coming months.

"Then, we will evaluate if these measures will allow us to rebuild the value of the company ... and we will weigh the opportunity to sell it or to keep it," Moretti said in an interview published in Monday's la Repubblica daily newspaper.

He reiterated that Finmeccanica would first sell some DRS's business divisions and seek an industrial or a financial partner for the U.S. unit.

He added the value of DRS had fallen by more than half since Finmeccanica bought it for $5.5 billion in 2008.